Theme & Amusement Parks in Texas City

Becoming a stock car racer requires commitment and hard work, but at MSR Houston, all you have to do to ride in a stock car is open its door. Alternatively, visitors can hop aboard 9 HP Honda go-karts, rounding the 0.7-mile karting track’s 17 turns and zooming down its quarter-mile straightaway at top speeds of more than 45 mph. These drives follow a precedent set by professionals; the 383-acre center is a sanctioned test site for the Izod Indy Car Series, Firestone Indy Lights, and Formula 2000, among many others.

It's not everywhere that a full speed collision results in peals of laughter—and it's kind of rare to see an amusement park ride rise and fall under a roof—but at It'z Family Food and Fun expectations tend to shatter. The muffled crashes of bumper cars swell and dissipate as youngsters scale a nearby 20-foot rock-climbing wall and grip the controls of more than 150 blinking, buzzing video-game consoles. But this utopic play land isn't for children alone. Adults can tap into their inner kid during a ride on the Disk-O, a whirling and twirling roller coaster or regret never having equipped their sedan with a nitrous booster. One of the most popular features, though, is bowling. The location spreads out regulation-size Brunswick lanes equipped with black lights, automatic scoring, and lounge areas brimming with comfort couches.

To keep their guests fueled, the staff also operates a buffet, where visitors choose from more than 40 salad fixings, al-dente pasta in an assortment of signature sauces, and oven-baked pizzas topped with italian sausage, basil, and jalapenos. Four dining rooms enhance meals with different themes: the vintage diner with cosmic black and silver chrome, as well as a stage and film screen, or the cartoon-themed cafeteria with checkered floors, Technicolor walls, and red benches.

The jungle would be a safer place if the chin-high grass, towering trees, and wild animals were painted on the walls and everything three-dimensional was inflatable. This dream of a danger-free nature preserve comes to life at Jump N Jungle. Voted the Best Kids’ Party Place in the Bay Area Citizen Reader's Choice Awards, the jungle lets kids leap toward the rafters on inflatable jumpers, test the bounds of gravity on giant slides, and navigate an unending labyrinth of mazes and obstacle courses. Both locations play host to weekend birthday gatherings by supplying invitations, plates and plastic cutlery, as well as staff supervision in the party room and play areas. Additionally, its childcare services include an educational curriculum for toddlers and preschoolers, as well as before school and afterschool activities for older children.

There’s only one thing the staff at WonderWilder cares more about than fun: safety. That’s why its members have separated the indoor play place’s slides, bouncy zones, and rope obstacle course into two distinct areas; one for those under the age of 8 and one for more adventurous kids aged 5–11. This allows younger kids to happily ride a 20-foot inflatable crocodile slide at a safe distance from their elders, while the older kids or see how high they can bounce on the giant jumping pillow. During open play, all areas are fair game, unless other guests are throwing one of the house’s themed birthday parties in a sectioned-off zone. These parties can incorporate elements that both girls and boys enjoy, from Nerf battles and superheroes to pretty princesses and IRS audits.

A massive gorilla snarls from the rafters above Putt-Putt Fun House's café, powerless to snatch the ice-cream cones and hot dogs from smiling kids' hands. Indeed, kids are control at the family fun center, leading parents through a variety of indoor and outdoor attractions ranging from mini-golf to laser tag. Waterfalls, ponds, and flowerbeds surround two 18-hole mini-golf courses, 22-foot climbing towers recreate the experience of scaling limestone, and bumper cars teach reckless young drivers to safely exchange insurance information.

Shankz Black Light Miniature Golf has two locations that encompass 18 holes apiece, with each course set aglow in neon and covered with exotic creatures. As they travel through the indoor facilities, each putter must navigate around wrecked pirate ships, shoot between stubby dinosaur legs, and wrest their clubs from the mouths of tigers in what typically amounts to a 35- to 60-minute round of golf. To accentuate the course's glowing artwork and scenery, golfers can opt to put on a pair of 3-D glasses. Beyond the neon greens, Shankz also features the Balladium and Ballaster game rooms, in which competitors fire Nerf balls from air cannons at targets and at each other to score points and ward off encroaching Nerf army tanks.